A Joyful Week

My apologies for being behind a week! (Look at me assuming I have tons of loyal readers who are just beside themselves with longing for my overdue blog!) I was out sick for a few days and got behind on my projects, my blog, and my life. :)



Grandma, Thanksgiving 2008

 Feeling much better now, and just in time! Thanksgiving is just a couple of days away and I'm sad to say my first year back in Texas won't be the same as before. This is the first year we'll be celebrating the holidays without my Grandma Joy. (Pictured left. The extra eyeball in the background belongs to my goofy brother, Andrew.) She was one of my closest friends and will be dearly missed. I am thankful I have so many wonderful memories of her.

I'm also thankful for all of you. My friends and family who have supported me in this crazy endeavor of mine; and my customers who continue to trickle in day after day and encourage me in this labor of vintage love.



Imported Green
Turquoise &
Copper Necklace
$100



Features

This week in Art, I'm featuring a necklace by artisan Nancye Briggs, who creates the most unusual and eye-catching copper-wrapped jewelry. The earth tones in this remind me of the season and of my grandmother, who worked with her hands and tended to her gardens with passion and grace. The piece features a smooth coil frame wrapped around six chunks of quality imported green turquoise with copper spacers. She created a two-clasp closure to lengthen or shorten the chain as needed. Versatile and Beautiful.

Les Wilk Ascot Dress
$45

In Vintage, I'm thrilled to show off this gorgeous Les Wilk Ascot dress. My primary reason for choosing this dress over so many other items in the store is the overwhelming response it has received in the shop and on the etsy site. It's flirty, it's adorable, and perfect for Thanksgiving Dinner! I wish I could have convinced one of my gorgeous customers this week to model it for me. She paired it with some black knee-high riding boots and I fell in love all over again! A little about the designer: Les Wilk was the Resident Director of Texas Woman’s University’s Southwest Institute of Design in the department of Fashion and Textiles. He spent many years designing for other labels before finally starting his own fashion design company in the 60's. He was known in the fashion industry as the "King of drop-dead dresses". With a moniker like that, who wouldn't want to own a vintage Les Wilk dress? This lovely little number I like to call Katherine features a "brushstroke" plaid print, ascot tie, cloth covered buttons, and a lovely gray slip under a fully twirlable skirt. I added a little funk with this waist cincher belt, but you can simplify the dress with its matching belt.

I realize this week shoppers will be inundating themselves with lists of Christmas gifts to buy and they'll be forging out into the wild frenzy that is known as Black Friday. Myself, I'll be here, manning the desk at Tipsy Gypsy, holding out for the few, proud shoppers who are opting for a different kind of shopping experience. I hope that as you prepare yourselves for your shopping excursions that you will be kind to one another and that you'll give back to the community and support local, small businesses. Tipsy Gypsy will be participating in Small Business Saturday, November 26. Earn 20% off at the counter with this coupon. (To save paper, you can just show the img. from your phone.)


Just in! (As in, while I was writing this blog!)
New wire wrapped rings and bracelets from local Slaton artist, Jennidawn Fox! I can't believe how funky these are! I'm in love and already wanting to take them home.

Have a great week everyone! Happy Thanksgiving! Be thankful for your loved ones! Eat some pumpkin pie! Always be a steward for Mama Earth!

Gone Plum Sweater Crazy

I promised myself this week that I'd focus more on product in the store and less time online, but as I've been putting more vintage out on the floor, I started going mad with excitement over sweaters; due in part to the cold weather of late.

Perusing through my backstock of clothing I came across three of the most precious cropped sweaters and I started thinking about different items they could pair with for the fall. That's when things got a little out of hand. Without any logical means of reason, I started pulling skirts off the rack and dressing up my mannequins as if "we" were prepping for a vintage runway show.

Leave a girl alone in a store full of clothing with too much hot cocoa and she starts talking to her mannequins.

Anywho, I gathered what was left of my sanity and jumped back online to find inspiration for my next sweater diving expedition. I did a random google image search for cropped sweaters and here's what I came up with:

Cropped Sweater (just like one of my pretties) paired with black shorts and boots!

Off the shoulder/cropped with an upcycled lace skirt & shorts...I think I have a lace skirt like this somewhere.

Again with the shorts...but I love how the length of the oversized cardigan adds depth to her vintage-inspired look.

I'm speechless. This look is adorable and I love everything about it. SHE is fabulous.

This Week at Tipsy Gypsy

I thought I'd use this time to talk a little bit about upcoming projects and ideas I have at the shop. Sort of a to-do list to keep myself organized and also to let you, readers & customers, in on what's in store.

The Slaton Centennial Christmas Festival is coming up on December 1st. I'm helping Kim over at Southpaws with designing the flyer. Each shop downtown is being asked to stay open until 8pm that evening and to provide refreshments to festival attendees in our shops. I'm all over this. Nothing thrills me more than the prospect of serving hot cocoa and cider to my customers. I'm also going to try to get our henna artist friend Stacy over that evening to do henna for customers. You may remember her from our Grand Opening weekend. She has hundreds of designs to choose from and does amazing, long lasting work.

I'm working on some handcrafted gifts that I'll be selling in the shop during the holidays. I'm really excited about these items because I feel they truly capture the spirit of the shop and what we're trying to do here; that is, educating people on the importance of recycling and environmental stewardship.

Some of the items you'll see in the coming weeks are:

-Peace Sign Rag Wreaths (made entirely of recycled t-shirts and vintage fabric)
-Owl Snuggs (pillows made from recycled & vintage fabrics)
-Book Page Wreaths & Ornaments (made from the pages of recycled books)
-Retro Yarn & Felt Wreaths (inspired from vintage holiday decor)
-Zipper Bracelets (handcrafted, vintage zippers with modern charms & embellishments)
-Hippie Microwaveable Heat Packs (handcrafted from vintage fabric, filled with grains & herbs)

And of course, there's more to come.

I'm starting something new with this blog and hopefully, if I can stay organized enough to make it a regular thing, I'll feature someone/something new each week in the categories of Art & Vintage.

So for this week:

We're featuring postcards from DirtyJerz Photography. The artwork comes from a talented and loyal friend of mine in Austin. The art captures her adventuring spirit perfectly. There are five designs in the series. Here's an example:

Keep snail mail alive a little while longer and make a friend smile. Or pick up all five and frame them; bring a little bit of Austin to your home. Postcards: 2.50ea.

 You can also check out her work at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jerseysummerrose/






In Vintage this week, I'm showcasing a badass (sorry Mom) ladies bowling league shirt complete with patches and pins. This little mama is full of history. Great if you're shooting for a rockin' rockabilly look or you just need something to give your own style a little bit of an edge. Move over Lebowski, this girl's got skills!

Size: Sm/Med

Measurements:

Bust: 38"

Length: 26"

$20.00

Well that about sums it up for now. Until next week Poppets,

Gypsy

You've got a friend in me...

This week (is it really only Wednesday?) has been a whirlwind of crazy. Moving to Texas after living in Colorado for 10 years has taken it's toll on my 29 years young body. I'm experiencing respiratory problems that leave me feeling like I've aged fifty years over night. All that aside, however, I'm learning that I (and the store) have friends in places I didn't realize.

When I went to the clinic this week to get treated for the ghastly 'asthma', the receptionist knew me instantly and asked how the shop was going. Mind you, I've never met this woman before. We talked briefly and I gave her my card and told her to stop by for some tea and shopping. When I left the clinic, scripts in hand, I called the nearest pharmacy to inquire about prescription costs. I nearly had a heart attack when I was informed that just one of the 2 inhalers I'd be picking up cost over $230. (I'll save my anti-pharmaceutical rant for my personal blog later.) Several phone calls to all of the Lubbock area pharmacies, I was still med-less, breathless, and cashless.

I called my new clinic receptionist friend and told her of my plight. They were fresh out of samples, but she promised to make a phone call and see what she could do...and what she did was work miracles! She called around to the Lubbock clinics and found one with samples to spare...in fact, the gal she spoke to lives here in Slaton, and drove the samples over!

I'm in much better spirits now and I have my lungs back! The best part of all is my new found friendship. I thought moving to a small, uber conservative town would be a difficult adjustment from living in a large city, but I'm learning that when everybody knows your name (In this case, Tipsy Gypsy), it's not necessarily a bad thing.

Thank you Slaton, Texas for your friendship.

Tipsy Gypsy Store Front Before Grand Opening (That's my husband and daughter dancing)